Battle for the Moral Highground: Pool Customs Around the World

Introduction

This pamphlet examines international cultural differences
in the game of pool by investigating the bars and pubs of
three representative countries: the United States, England,
and Botswana. The senses of honor and ethics in these countries
are analyzed in a comparative context, and judgements are
made unflinchingly with regard to the moral superiority of
particular national rules and customs. The author admits to
being a United States citizen, but insists that every sincere
effort has been made to belittle the customs of other nations
fairly.

Honor is everything in the game of pool, particularly as
played in bars and pubs, as opposed to the tournament game.
"Was that the exact intended shot, did you really run
four balls while I was in the bathroom, did you see me accidentally
nudge that ball with my elbow while shooting," and so
forth. Honor comes into play only when there is individual
freedom in interpreting or admitting what has happened. In
a tournament a referee is responsible for that--calling fouls,
enforcing rules, declaring punishments. In other words, cheating
is impossible. In a bar, on the other hand, all sorts of shenanigans
are possible. There may or may not be any agreement about
the rules, creating the distinct possibility of misunderstandings,
ill feelings, deception, violence, and death. The problem
is exacerbated for the international traveler, who may find
that peculiar foreigners are playing some bastardized version
of the real game.

In short, a sense of honor and ethics is indispensable where
there are no referees. Honorable conduct, which is essential
for the peaceful enjoyment of the game, can only be understood
and practiced within the context of particular cultural norms.
That's where this pamphlet comes in handy.

Let me emphasize once more that we are only concerned here
with rules and customs as they are commonly practiced in bars
and pubs, also known as "house rules." House rules
can vary from bar to bar but certain rules are pretty consistent,
and those are the ones we're dealing with here. These rules
often have very little to do with the "official"
rules, which are used in tournaments and are different in
many respects. The official governing body for pool in the
United States is the Billiards Congress of America (BCA);
in England it's the English Pool Association (EPA). Many BCA
and EPA rules are routinely flouted in bars and pubs, but
research has shown that few friends are made in the course
of pointing out the "real rules" during an average
bar game. (However, it can still be fun if you're in the mood
for it.)

A further note about official rules and governing associations:
The EPA uses the so-called "World
Eight Ball Pool Federation Rules," which, despite
the use of the word "world," are suspiciously and
completely English in character. Similarly, the BCA uses the
"World
Standardized Rules," which are as thoroughly American
as watching TV all day. Thus we have two sets of "world"
rules that contradict each other in countless ways large and
small. Botswana already gains a bit of moral high ground here
because it does not have a national association that tries
to rule the world.

So,
we will proceed by having a look at a series of key categories, comparing and
contrasting the American, English, and Botswanian games, also noting the actual
official rules just for fun, and we will make the tough calls regarding which
system in each case is morally superior. Please note that we will not attempt
to describe each and every rule, but only the ones where there are important
distinctions between them that reveal differences in honor and morality. In
this way we can gain a better understanding of international cultural relationships.

The first thing we must do, as in any relationship, is to
have a look at the equipment.

The Stuff

First
time American travelers to the UK might feel something like Gulliver when setting
eyes upon the diminutive little tables and tiny little balls that they'll confront
upon entering the pool playing environment. They might feel a sense of disorientation
at the two-tone array of unnumbered solid red and yellow balls that surround
the black eight-ball on the table. They might be tongue-tied when they find
their lingo--their "stripes and solids," their "low and high,"
their "six in the corner"--has all been rendered meaningless.

Similarly, English travelers might feel like they will never
muster the strength to move the huge and heavy American pool
ball all the way across the vast expanse of green baize that
seems to stretch out in front of them to the horizon.

English players will occasionally make jokes about the immense
pockets on American tables, insinuating that the role of accuracy
in the game has been compromised, and that sinking a shot
in American pool is no more challenging than tossing a fish
into the ocean. (In the traditional response, US players will
make vaguely lurid references to having big balls.) In any
case, the disproportionately small and narrow pockets of the
English table are indeed notoriously unforgiving and do require
a trainspotter's sense of precision.

In Botswana the table and balls are English-sized, but the
balls are numbered stripes and solids just like in the United
States, making all visitors feel both at home and not at home
at the same time.

Moral High Ground: England and Botswana. The equipment may
be dinky and aesthetically displeasing, but those tiny hard
little pockets do require somewhat greater accuracy, and that's
the measure we're using.

Challenging

How does one get onto the table in the first place, assuming
it is occupied when you first walk in the door? Whoever wins
the current game is the reigning champion, and gets to play
again. Everyone else who wants to play is a challenger. There
will normally be a list of challengers, a queue. You must
find some way to join the list of challengers, which can range
from zero to an infinite number of challengers on any given
evening. A chalkboard name list is sometimes used for this
purpose, but more commonly one uses the coin of the realm,
by placing a representative coin on the edge of the table
above the coin slots. This basic method applies universally
in all our sample nations--the United States, England, and
Botswana. However, there is an important difference in the
English game.

In the
United States, the tables take quarters; correspondingly, quarters are used
as the placeholders at table's edge. In Botswana, the tables take one-pula or
two-pula coins; thus these same pula coins are used at tableside when offering
the challenge. In England, the tables usually take 50p coins, yet challengers
avoid at all costs using actual 50p coins to hold their place. They will use
any other sort of coin instead, for example a 2p coin. They'll have 50p
coins, mind you, but they will keep them tucked away rather grabbily in their
pockets, to be produced only at the last moment when it becomes necessary.

Why? Because if you put your 50p up there on the table, someone
is liable to nick it for their game, leaving you with no 50p
and no place in the queue. For this is the English custom,
and it is the first honor-related concept the international
traveler must master before entering the pub.

Moral High Ground: Tie between United States and Botswana.
This "hide the 50p" business reeks of grabbiness.

Racking and Breaking

Figure 2. English Pub Rack

Figure 1. US Bar Rack

In both the United States and England, it is the custom for
the challenger to rack the balls and the reigning champion
to break them. In Botswana, however, it is the reigning champion
who racks, and the challenger who is invited to break. Other
than that, they pretty much play the English-style game in
Botswana.

It is usual in American bars to rack the balls so that stripes
and solids alternate perfectly around the outside edge of
the triangle (see Figure 1). The customary English rack has
alternating diagonal lines of red and yellow balls except
for a special swirly curly bit that keeps you on your toes
(Figure 2). I note that in Botswana they are not as particular
as all that about the rack so long as the eight-ball goes
in its special place in the middle. An additional difference
is that in the United States, the ball at the top of the triangle
goes on the special marked spot, and in England and Botswana
the eight-ball goes there.

Official Rules:
BCA: Eight-ball in the middle, a stripe in one back corner
and a solid in the other.
EPA: Eight-ball in the middle. Everything else is art.

Moral High Ground: Botswana. It's the only one of our sample
countries that shows the incoming player (the challenger)
any hospitality.

After the Break

Let's say that a ball has been pocketed on the break. In
fact let's say that a striped ball went down. Does the shooter
automatically have to take stripes for the rest of the game?
Yes, according to the most common custom in each of our sample
countries. If both kinds go down, most people will say the
shooter has a choice. However, many people also play that
the table is always open after the break, regardless of what
goes down. This "always open after the break" rule
is slightly more common in the United States than in England
or Botswana.

Official Rules:
BCA: Always open after the break, staying open until the first
successful called shot.
EPA: Open after the break, but before taking the next shot
the shooter has to say "I'm going for the yellow ones"
or "I'm going for the red ones," and then even if
he misses the shot he's still stuck with that color. Strange,
eh? But true.

Moral High Ground: Since all the countries use the same system
for the most part, at least in bars and pubs, let's call it
a draw. However, just for fun, it should be noted that the
BCA/EPA "always open after the break" rule is morally
more rigorous than the customary "take whatever goes
down" because its provides greater individual freedom
and is based on skill rather than luck. It also potentially
brings a certain degree of honor into play. Suppose for example
that you sink a stripe on the break but you decide to go after
solids anyway. Maybe you like the way all the solids seem
to be laid out in front of the holes more conveniently. Well,
even though your decision is based on self-interest, at least
it also concedes one ball to the opponent. Very gracious.
It is also somehow less grabby than going out of your way
to get more stripes.

Crime and Punishment

The
question soon arises, "What constitutes a foul?" Here is where we
really get into the role of honor in the game of pool. Everyone will agree that
it is a foul (or "scratch") when the cue ball ends up in one of the
pockets, or when a ball goes flying off the table completely. Beyond that, we
are in a shadow zone of competing theories and conflicting assumptions. Each
country has a bit of a funny mix of strictness and laxity, making an overall
judgement as to moral superiority very difficult indeed. But we will not flinch.

Before we analyze what constitutes a crime, let's first describe
the systems of punishment. It will make things easier for
us later on. Trust me. I've revised this section many times,
trying to make it as simple and clear as possible.

There are two drastic differences between the English/Botswanian
game and the US game. The first major difference is that you
have to call your shots in the United States, and you do not
have to call your shots in England and Botswana. In England
and Botswana, slop counts. The second major difference is
the respective systems of punishment for fouling. The following
revelation will shock any ordinary American, but in England
and Botswana the opponent gets two turns in a row after
a foul. You heard me right: You make a foul, then its
their turn to shoot, and they go until they miss, and then
they get to keep going! This peculiarity is of course
unheard of in the American game.

OK. Just hold onto that information for a moment; it will
be important later in our story. Let us now turn our attention
to some examples of fouling in pool. There are basically two
different kinds of fouls: fouls where the cue ball goes into
one of the pockets and fouls where the cue ball does not go
into one of the pockets. First let's look at what happens
in the case of the clearest and most obvious type of foul:
the type where the cue ball goes into one of the pockets.

Figure 3. The Kitchen

On one point we have universal agreement. Whether you are
in a bar in Botswana, England, or the United States, the cue
ball has to come back out of that pocket before the game can
continue. Naturally you have to put the cue ball back onto
the table somewhere. Where do you put it? All our countries
agree: You put the cue ball in the kitchen. What is the kitchen?
The kitchen is that end of the table you broke from, as seen
in Figure 3.

Parenthetically: I lied. Not everybody says the cue ball
has to go into the kitchen. Sometimes in US bars the "ball
in hand" rule is used after a foul. The "ball in
hand" rule says you can put the cue ball anywhere on
the table you like. The "ball in hand" rule also
happens to be the official BCA rule. In bars it is used very
rarely, but it is not unheard of, so I must mention it to
be thorough. The "ball in hand" rule is never used
in England or Botswana. In England and Botswana they have
never even heard of the "ball in hand" rule. Now
let's return to our example.

In both England and the United States, when playing the cue
ball from the kitchen, it is most commonly observed that the
shooter must shoot at an object ball that is outside of the
kitchen. If the only available object ball happens also to
be in the kitchen, then the shooter is forced to try one of
those difficult bounce-off-the-rail-and-back shots. In Botswana,
however, there are no qualms about shooting at object balls
within the kitchen. Botswanians are very happy to shoot at
a ball in the kitchen without the least sense of shame whatsoever.
Many English people would be surprised to hear it, but the
Botswanian method happens to reflect the official EPA rule.

OK. Thus far, with a couple of minor discrepancies as noted,
there is relative harmony in the pool universe. When the cue
ball goes in the pocket, you put it in the kitchen. In the
United States, that's the end of the story; the game continues
normally. In England and Botswana, as mentioned above, the
shooter is also awarded an extra turn. Fine. We are not troubled
by anything terribly complicated so far. All is clear.

Now let us examine the other kind of foul--the kind where
the cue ball does not go into one of the pockets. What sort
of foul could that be? Good question. Well, one of the basic
rules of eight-ball is that the first ball you hit with the
cue ball is supposed to be your own ball. You're not allowed
to hit your opponent's ball first, you're not allowed to hit
the eight-ball first, and you're not allowed to hit nothing
at all. You have to hit something, and the first thing you
have to hit is your own ball. And if you don't do that, you
have committed a foul.

So let's say you take your shot, and your shot isn't very
good. You fail to hit your ball. The cue ball takes a little
roll around the table without disturbing any of the balls
on the table at all. If you are in a bar in the United States,
the only thing that happens is your turn ends. That's not
really a punishment, because your turn ends anyway, because
you didn't sink a ball. But nobody in the bar can think of
anything to do to punish you. The cue ball has not gone into
a hole. It can't be taken and put into the kitchen. So what
on earth else can they do to you? Nothing. They know it's
some kind of foul but there is nothing they can think of to
do to you. So, everyone may feel vaguely dissatisfied and
suspicious, but still no punishment actually happens. They
just can't think of anything. (According to the official BCA
rules, incidentally, there is a remedy: "ball in hand,"
like on any other foul.)

Contrarily, in England and Botswana, they know exactly what
to do, and they do it: They give your opponent that extra
turn. This extra clarity can be considered an advantage of
the extra turn system.

So far, all our sample countries will agree that all our
sample fouls are fouls. They will all agree that the cue ball
in the hole is a foul. They will all agree that if you don't
hit your own ball first it's a foul (only in US bars they
don't know what to do about it). Now let's look at a different
sort of situation, one that is a foul in England and Botswana,
but that is most certainly not a foul in the United States.
I'm talking about when you accidentally sink one of your opponent's
balls.

Now, remember that in England and Botswana, slop counts.
In other words, accidents that favor the shooter are A-OK.
Yet in this very same system, if you sink one of your opponent's
balls accidentally, you're finished, even if you also sank
one of your own. And not only do you have to stop shooting,
your opponent gets two turns in a row. The inherent punishment
of having sunk your opponent's ball is not considered sufficient.
Additional punishment is heaped on. This can be interpreted
as a very strict standard of honor, although you must admit
it looks slightly funny sitting there next to its loosey-goosey
brother the "slop counts" rule.

In American pool, if you accidentally sink an opponent's
ball while you also successfully pocket your own, it's no
problem. Sure, you regret it, it's not great, but it's nothing
more than a little gift that you give to your opponent. It
doesn't end your turn. Life goes on. You keep shooting.

While it must be conceded that the American willingness to
overlook this particular form of unintended result can be
considered a kind of sloppiness in its own right, overall
the level of moral rigor is undoubtedly higher in the United
States than in either England or Botswana. In most bars it
is not only necessary to call the ball and the hole, but the
exact path the balls will take along the way, i.e., every
kiss and carom involved. In fact if you call the six in the
corner off the fourteen and then instead the six goes in perfectly
clean, honor dictates that you abdicate the table at once,
leaving a trail of gleaming chivalry in your wake.

Moral High Ground: United States. Allow me a brief explanation.
With apologies to my outraged friends in England and Botswana,
this two-shot business is crap. Two turns in a row? Being
allowed to miss and still continue? Being allowed to do what
your opponent has just been punished for? Two wrongs making
a right? No. One cannot proceed this way and feel honorable.
On the contrary it fosters a secretly shameful feeling, a
dirty feeling. It is morally unacceptable.

Conclusion

Each of our sample countries presents us with a puzzling
mixture of sloth and rigor, honor and grabbiness. It must
be noted that honor in pool is ultimately a personal matter
that resides in individual conduct and manner, rather than
being neatly divisible along national lines. Beyond the shared
assumptions about rules and customs, very often in practice
it is the individual traits that set the tone of the game
and establish claims to the moral high ground. For example,
if in preparing to shoot a player just barely nudges a ball
accidentally with his bridge hand or miscues ever so slightly,
it is not always seemly to play by the actual rules no matter
how clear and customary they may be. What instead should happen,
honor-wise, is that the offending player should stoically
and sincerely volunteer to yield the table and accept whatever
other punishments may be coming his way, and the opponent
should brush aside his offer in a warm and generous manner,
urging him to continue and insisting that such unforgiving
interpretations have no place in a friendly game. Thus, ultimately
honor transcends both rules and nationalities and can perhaps
never be precisely defined.

However, this truth cannot be used as a cheap excuse to avoid
making a final determination about which country has achieved
overall moral superiority. Let us now turn unflinchingly to
the bottom line.

Comments

Name

Subject

Comment

21 June 2007 08:49:42Denis

John, thanks a lot for your investigation! I am from Russia so it was very interesting to compare our "bar" rules (yes, Russians sometimes play pool!), which, though, vary (Russia is big, you know!) and the foreign ones. We used to play some mixture of those you described, which included some other funny rules, like the one claiming that when you've finished with your balls, you must pot the last (black) ball into the pocket opposite to the pocket you've potted your last ball!!! If you pot it somewhere else, you lose. And there is a variety of rules regarding what to do if both the opponents potted their last balls into the same pocket. I know three rules: 1) they both have the same pocket for the black ball; 2) the second opponent has to pot it to the next pocket (clockwise); 3) his pocket is opposite to the first players' one, so this is the pocket where he's potted his last ball! We also had the rule of two strikes in the case of a foul, as you described, with one exception: if the cue-ball goes into a pocket, and you have your one ball in the kitchen, and you have to "try one of those difficult bounce-off-the-rail-and-back shots", then a foul does not lead to a punishment.
Well, some time ago we desided that this sort of rules sucks (I think we are right) so now we play using the official sport rules. I mus say this is much more fun. :)
Thank you again!

12 June 2007 22:08:22John

Hey man, glad you enjoyed it. Hopefully you got the rule about the break BEFORE you hit the rack. It's those after-the-fact rules you *really* have to watch out for...

11 June 2007 07:26:39M Armstrong

Fantastic, laughed my head off. Playing in England I have seen some good ones, latest one: when you break the balls at least TWO must come up past the middle pockets towards the kitchen or its a re rack!